1996 Illawarra Steelers season

Illawarra Steelers
Season 1996
CEO	Bob Millward
Head Coach	Allan McMahon
Captain	John Cross
ARL	14 (out of 20)
Top Try scorer	Rod Wishart (14)
Top Points scorer	Rod Wishart (160)
Reserve Grade	8 (of 20), Preliminary Final
President's Cup	3 (of 20), Preliminary Final
Highest home attendance	9,744 (vs. Western Suburbs Magpies, 22 March 1996, at WIN Stadium)
Lowest home attendance	4,883 (vs. South Queensland Crushers, 5 May 1996, at WIN Stadium)
Average home attendance	7,434 (Total 81,778)
← Previous season 1995	Next season → 1997

The 1996 Illawarra Steelers season was the fifteenth in the club's history. They competed in the Australian Rugby League's 1996 Optus Cup season, finishing in 14th place on the ladder, missing out on the finals for the fourth year in a row. The Reserve Grade and President's Cup teams both missed out on their respective Grand Final's by one game, whilst the junior Steelers - the S.G. Ball and Harold Matthew's sides both won their competitions.

Player Movements

Gains

Player	Previous Club

Losses

Player	Joined Club

Squad

No. Position Player HB Glen Air LK Adam Bristow HK Dean Callaway FB Paul Carige WG Wayne Clifford PR David Cox LK John Cross (c) PR Maea David PR Darrien Doherty PR Scott England PR Darren Fritz HK Brad Hepi LK Brad Mackay CE Paul McGregor FB Brendan O'Meara

No. Position Player SR Neil Piccinelli HK Andrew Purcell FB Brendon Reeves SR Wayne Richards FB David Riolo CE Brett Rodwell WG Fili Seru CE Craig Simon PR Craig Smith CE Shaun Timmins PR David Walsh HB Josh White PR Kyle White WG Rod Wishart

Draw and Results

Quick Summary

1997 Illawarra Steelers season summary
Round Home Score Away 1 Steelers 8-17 Wests 2 Auckland 18-10 Steelers 3 Brisbane 54-4 Steelers 4 Steelers 56-14 Souths 5 Chargers 28-20 Steelers 6 Steelers 20-30 Auckland	Round Home Score Away 7 Steelers 18-14 Sth Qld 8 Nth Qld 24-8 Steelers 9 Steelers 18-12 Dragons 10 Canterbury 12-0 Steelers 11 Canberra 16-14 Steelers 12 Steelers 14-6 Brisbane	Round Home Score Away 13 Nth Syd 48-18 Steelers 14 Steelers 8-16 Manly 15 Steelers 18-19 Reds 16 Eels 34-18 Steelers 17 Steelers 16-32 Sydney 18 Newcastle 22-34 Steelers	Round Home Score Away 19 Steelers 21-14 Sharks 20 Balmain 16-14 Steelers 21 Steelers 42-2 Penrith 22 Wests 12-8 Steelers

Regular Season

March

Round 1: Illawarra Steelers vs. Western Suburbs Magpies
22 March 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Kelvin Jeffes Venue: WIN Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Attendance: 9,744
Illawarra Steelers (0) 8 - 17 (6) Western Suburbs Magpies   Tries: Fili Seru 2 Tries: Craig Coleman Ciriaco Mescia Damian Kennedy Goals: Rod Wishart 0/2 Goals: Andrew Leeds 2/3, field goal

O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, England, Cross (c), Richards, Timmins. Cox, Hepi, Bristow.

Round 2: Auckland Warriors vs. Illawarra Steelers
31 March 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): David Manson Venue: Ericsson Stadium Location: Auckland, New Zealand Attendance: 17,246
Auckland Warriors (6) 18 - 10 (0) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tea Roparti 2 Richie Blackmore Tries: Paul McGregor Rod Wishart Goals: Greg Alexander 2/2 Gavin Hill 1/2 Goals: Rod Wishart 1/2

O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, Richards, Mackay, Cross (c), Timmins. D.Walsh, Piccinelli, England, Carige.

Reserve Grade: Illawarra Steelers defeated Auckland Warriors 18-12.

April

Round 3: Brisbane Broncos vs. Illawarra Steelers
Saturday 6 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Kelvin Jeffes Venue: ANZ Stadium Location: Brisbane, Queensland Attendance: 24,577
Brisbane Broncos (26) 54 - 4 (4) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Darren Lockyer 2 Willie Carne Glenn Lazarus Michael Hancock Wendell Sailor Darren Smith Steve Renouf Peter Ryan John Plath Tries: Rod Wishart Goals: Willie Carne 6/9 Darren Lockyer 1/1 Goals: Rod Wishart 0/1

O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, Richards, Mackay, Timmins, Cross (c). Carige, Walsh, Doherty, Hepi.

Reserve Grade: Brisbane defeated Illawarra 24-14

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Round 4: Illawarra Steelers vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs
Sunday 14 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Rob Alexander Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Attendance: 7,083
Illawarra Steelers (20) 56 - 14 (10) South Sydney Rabbitohs   Tries: Glen Air 3 Brad Mackay 2 Brett Rodwell 2 Brad Hepi Rod Wishart Tries: Darrell Trindall Paul Mellor Goals: Rod Wishart 8/11 Goals: Craig Field 3/4

Riolo; Wishart, Timmins, McGregor, Seru; Mackay, Air; Fritz, Hepi, Walsh, Cross (c), Doherty, Rodwell. Richards, England, Cox, J.White.

Souths forward Martin Masella was sent-off after 35 minutes for an illegal use of the elbow. Steelers hooker Brad Hepi was cited for a high tackle, but later exonerated.

Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Souths 18-2.

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Round 5: Gold Coast Chargers vs. Illawarra Steelers
20 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Graeme West Venue: Carrara Stadium Location: Gold Coast, Queensland Attendance: 7,251
Gold Coast Chargers (16) 28 - 20 (10) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Dave Watson 2 Shane Kenward David Baildon Lee Oudenryn Tries: Rod Wishart Glen Air Darren Fritz Brendan O'Meara Goals: Lee Oudenryn 2/3 Brad Hurst 2/3 Goals: Rod Wishart 2/4

Riolo; Wishart, Timmins, Simon, Seru; Mackay, Air; Fritz, Hepi, Walsh, Doherty, Cross (c), Rodwell. Cox, Richards, O'Meara, J.White.

Gold Coast Chargers winger David Baildon was sent-off after 39 minutes for striking and was later sentenced to six weeks on the sideline. The Steelers, however, could not use the extra man advantage in the second-half to win the game. They were able to peg the score back to 16-all early in the second-half, but were unable go on with it. Two tries to the Chargers assured victory for the home team.

Reserve Grade: Illwarra defeated Gold Coast 20-10.

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Round 6: Illawarra Steelers vs. Auckland Warriors
Sunday 28 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Rob Alexander Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Attendance: 8,055
Illawarra Steelers (20) 20 - 30 (6) Auckland Warriors   Tries: Kyle White John Cross Shaun Timmins Tries: Phil Blake Stacey Jones Greg Alexander T. Tatupu Marc Ellis Goals: Rod Wishart 4/4 Goals: Gene Ngamu 3/3 G. Hill 2/2

Riolo; Wishart, Timmins, Simon, Seru; Mackay, Air; Fritz, Hepi, Walsh, Doherty, Cross (c), Rodwell. K.White, Richards, O'Meara, Purcell.

The Steelers coughed up a 20-6 lead at half-time with some sloppy handling and disastrous defence to give away 24 unanswered second-half points to the boys that travelled from across the Tasman.

Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Auckland 29-10.

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May

Round 7: Illawarra Steelers vs. South Queensland Crushers
5 May 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales
Illawarra Steelers (10) 18 - 14 (12) South Queensland Crushers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

Round 8: North Queensland Cowboys vs. Illawarra Steelers
Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Eddie Ward Venue: Stockland Stadium Location: Townsville, Queensland
North Queensland Cowboys (6) 24 - 8 (8) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

Round 9: Illawarra Steelers vs. St. George Dragons
18 May 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Kelvin Jeffes Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales
Illawarra Steelers (8) 18 - 12 (0) St. George Dragons   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

Round 10: Canterbury Bulldogs vs. Illawarra Steelers
Friday 31 May 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Graeme West Venue: Belmore Sports Ground Location: Sydney, New South Wales Attendance: 6,022
Canterbury Bulldogs (2) 12 - 0 (0) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

June

Round 11: Canberra Raiders vs. Illawarra Steelers
Competition: Optus Cup Venue: Bruce Stadium Location: Canberra, ACT
Canberra Raiders (6) 16 - 14 (8) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Noa Nadruku S.Stone Simon Woolford Tries: Neil Piccinelli Brendon Reeves Goals: Robinson 1/1 Jason Ferris 1/4 Goals: Shaun Timmins 3/4

Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Canberra 22-16.

Round 12: Illawarra Steelers vs. Brisbane Broncos
Competition: Optus Cup Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales
Illawarra Steelers () 14 - 6 () Brisbane Broncos   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

Round 13: North Sydney Bears vs. Illawarra Steelers
Competition: Optus Cup Venue: North Sydney Oval Location: North Sydney, New South Wales
North Sydney Bears () 48 - 18 () Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

July

Round 14: Illawarra Steelers vs. Manly Sea Eagles
Competition: Optus Cup
Illawarra Steelers () 8 - 16 () Manly Sea Eagles   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals:

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Manly	22	18	0	4	549	191	+358	36
2	Brisbane	21	17	0	4	607	263	+344	34
3	North Sydney	22	15	2	5	598	325	+273	32
4	Sydney City	22	15	1	6	521	321	+200	31
5	Cronulla	21	14	2	5	399	268	+131	30
6	Canberra	21	13	1	7	538	384	+154	27
7	St. George	21	12	1	8	443	360	+83	27
8	Western Suburbs	22	12	1	9	394	434	−40	25
9	Newcastle	21	10	1	10	416	388	+28	23
10	Canterbury	21	11	0	10	375	378	−3	22
11	Auckland	21	10	0	11	412	427	−15	22
12	Balmain	22	11	0	11	319	459	−140	22
13	Parramatta	21	9	1	11	404	415	−11	21
14	Illawarra	22	8	0	14	403	444	−41	16
15	Penrith	21	7	1	13	363	464	−101	15
16	Western Reds	21	6	1	14	313	420	−107	13
17	North Queensland	21	6	0	15	288	643	−355	12
18	Gold Coast	22	5	1	16	359	521	−162	11
19	South Sydney	22	5	1	16	314	634	−320	11
20	South Queensland	21	3	0	18	220	496	−276	8

Home Crowd Averages

Round	Opposition	Venue	Crowd
Round 1	Western Suburbs Magpies	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	9,744
Round 4	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	7,083
Round 6	Auckland Warriors	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	8,055
Round 7	South Queensland Crushers	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	4,883
Round 9	St. George Dragons	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	8,529
Round 12	Brisbane Broncos	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	6,121
Round 14	Manly Sea Eagles	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	9,638
Round 15	WA Reds	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	7,115
Round 17	Sydney City Roosters	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	5,247
Round 19	Cronulla Sharks	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	8,017
Round 21	Penrith Panthers	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong	7,346
Total			81,778
Average			7,434